We recently spent a week in New Mexico. I was amazed at the altitude in the Angel Fire and Red River areas 8600'+. There is a very nice RV Resort, Angel Fire RV. Also some good NF campgrounds near Red River that will accommodate your rig.

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We work camped at Vallecito Resort in 2014, which is located about 22 miles northeast of Durango...at 8000' elevation. The reservoir is stocked with fish...including walleye. Full hookups available. Black bears do come into the resort. You will be at the southern edge of a very large, spectacular wilderness area, if you feel like hiking. We left after 7 weeks because the DW never could adjust to the altitude, being Florida flatlanders.

Drink a lot of Gatoraid. I had trouble getting my Aqua Hot to fire while in Breakenridge, left there & went to the Agua Hot factory in Colorado & after spending several days calling the Technical Advisor at Aqua Hot ( it was 10 Degree F) with absolutely no help, I pulled into the factory & a young man said "you where at 12,000 ft you needed to open the air intake a 1/2 " .
I tried to find Don the service tech but they called the police & my wife talked me into leaving.
I was still in my Monaco Windser when this all happened.

Wow ... I had no idea of this altitude sickness. I'm currently planning on a 4 month trip next spring/summer/fall out west and most of the places are pretty high elevation. Now I'm rethinking this .... both my DH and myself are "flat landers" - have never really been west of the Mississippi for any length of time. Have never been to the mountains .... wondering if I really should keep making reservations ..... I'd hate to plan all this and feel miserable the whole time. DH does have sleep apnea and asthma......

Debbie,
Most folks are not bothered by the altitude. But it is something you should be aware of and watch for the symptoms. If you start having the symptoms, get to a doctor. My wife gets it and our doctor gave her something to take while we're traveling at high elevations.

Debbie, don't cancel your trip. A small section of people get altitude sickness. Your chances are slim.

If you're taking 4 months of travel you will be climbing elevation gradually. This will let you get acclimated to the altitudes. Drink lots of water and try to take it easy a couple days when moving higher and you'll be good to go! Many thousands visit the western states and are not affected. Don't pass up the beauty of the west.

Just to add to the above a little. Just take things a little more slowly at first. Your lungs and heart have to work harder to circulate oxygen at those altitudes but they will "train" after a little bit. Alcohol and sleeping pills depress respiration so they should be avoided for the first few days till your body has had time to adjust. I live on the coast (sea level) but the only time I really have suffered from any of those effects have been at the highest of altitudes (Pikes Peak, Haleakula etc.) and places like that usually have signs posted thereabouts reminding you to take it easy. Read up on it, know the symptoms and the ways to avoid problems. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Thanks y'all. Ok - back to trying to figure out the route and making reservations! That alone is a daunting task! I'm planning on a week at every stop and only about 300 miles between stops at the utmost.

Thanks y'all. Ok - back to trying to figure out the route and making reservations! That alone is a daunting task! I'm planning on a week at every stop and only about 300 miles between stops at the utmost.

Schedule your stops so you are gaining altitude each day. This along with slowly increasing your water intake, as others have mentioned, will help you acclimate quicker. You don't have to drown yourself but keep well hydrated and the first day at higher altitudes just do a slow pace.

We go from 649' to about 8000' in two days. DFW to Raton NM (6800) and Raton to Buena Vista CO (7955). Thats about 530miles 1st day and 200 on the second day. We get set up in BV and sit in the afternoon and do non strenuous things the next day. By the 3rd day we were exploring 10,000 and up. So far we've had no problems but the first couple of days we knew we were higher than home. We're in our mid 60's and have been hitting the high country once or twice every year for at least 35 years.

FWIW: If you fly, most commercial aircraft are pressurized to around 8000 ft and maybe a little more at cruising altitude.......

We spent a couple months in Utah this summer. We are also from Fl, at about 6ft above sea level... depending on the tide. Bryce was about 9000 ft, and other places we visited were between 4000 and 8000. Really didn't have any issues other than the sleep number bed was like a rock until I drained it down. Got winded a bit hiking, but got over that.

We stayed in Buena Vista, Co in 2014. The altitude (8200') was bothering my wife (nausea, headaches, hard to sleep). A friend who worked on the rescue squad came by and used a pulse/ox meter to check her oxygen levels. She was running in the low 90's during normal activity (should have been 96 or above). We moved down 1500' (Mesa Verde) and she was fine at the lower altitude. In other words, you can stay low and visit high.